Local marijuana find may be tied to national story

Aubrey Lee Price, is pictured on the left in an FBI wanted poster and on the right in his booking photo from the Glynn County Sheriff's Office this week. (Left photo provided by FBI; right photo provided by Glynn County Sheriff's Office)

Published: Thursday, January 2, 2014 at 11:37 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 2, 2014 at 12:57 p.m.

A Georgia banker accused of embezzlement and faking his own death may have been hiding out in a Citra drug den.

According to the New York Daily News, Aubrey Lee Price was a banker and director of Montgomery Bank & Trust in Ailey, Ga., when he was accused of defrauding the bank and investors of millions of dollars. He reportedly told family members and friends in June 2012 that he was going to commit suicide in the Florida Keys.

But FBI agents believed that Price actually escaped with $17 million.

Price's vehicle was stopped Tuesday by police in Brunswick, Ga., because it had illegally tinted windows, according to a news release issued by the Glynn County Sheriff's Office.

Two deputies arrested Price, 47, at approximately 10:45 a.m. Tuesday along Interstate 95. He first gave them a false name, but the deputies soon discovered Price was wanted by the FBI and arrested him.

Price remains in jail in Glynn County on charges of providing a false name, address or birth date to a law enforcement official and on a federal detainer filed by the U.S. Marshal's Service on behalf of the FBI.

The local angle of this national story was identified by Rich Sipe, who works for Jacksonville-based Heart of the Street Ministry.

The ministry owns property in the 16500 block of Northeast Jacksonville Road in Citra. When Sipe saw news reports about Price's arrest, he instantly recognized the suspect as the man he knew as "Jason," who had been renting the ministry's property.

Sipe went to the property and smelled the odor of marijuana coming from a shed. He called 911 and responding deputies saw marijuana plants.

Sure enough, inside a shed investigators found 85 mature marijuana plants. Inside the living room and a bedroom they found 140 more marijuana plants.

The plants ranged in height from 3 inches to 3 feet and weighed a combined 46.5 pounds. Also found in the residence: 2 pounds of packaged marijuana ready for distribution and three handguns, according to official accounts.

Agents also recovered several fraudulent identifications bearing photographs of "Jason."

Sipe said the man had been renting the property for about eight to 10 months, officials said.

The various forms of identification were all in the name of David Guillermo Ramirez, born Aug. 4, 1983. They included a passport, Social Security card, Homeland Security card, Georgia driver's license and state-issued ID from Georgia.

Sipe told a Star-Banner reporter Thursday that Price/Jason did not have any involvement with Heart of the Street Ministry, which feeds and clothes homeless people and assists them in getting them back on their feet. He said when he met the man, he told him he was trying to start a strawberry nursery.

Sipe said the arrangement was for the man to help them fix up the property. He stayed longer than expected, Sipe added.

Local drug agents plan to travel to Georgia to talk with Price about the marijuana growing operation and the IDs bearing his image.

<p>A Georgia banker accused of embezzlement and faking his own death may have been hiding out in a Citra drug den.</p><p>According to the New York Daily News, Aubrey Lee Price was a banker and director of Montgomery Bank & Trust in Ailey, Ga., when he was accused of defrauding the bank and investors of millions of dollars. He reportedly told family members and friends in June 2012 that he was going to commit suicide in the Florida Keys.</p><p>But FBI agents believed that Price actually escaped with $17 million.</p><p>Price's vehicle was stopped Tuesday by police in Brunswick, Ga., because it had illegally tinted windows, according to a news release issued by the Glynn County Sheriff's Office.</p><p>Two deputies arrested Price, 47, at approximately 10:45 a.m. Tuesday along Interstate 95. He first gave them a false name, but the deputies soon discovered Price was wanted by the FBI and arrested him.</p><p>Price remains in jail in Glynn County on charges of providing a false name, address or birth date to a law enforcement official and on a federal detainer filed by the U.S. Marshal's Service on behalf of the FBI.</p><p>The local angle of this national story was identified by Rich Sipe, who works for Jacksonville-based Heart of the Street Ministry.</p><p>The ministry owns property in the 16500 block of Northeast Jacksonville Road in Citra. When Sipe saw news reports about Price's arrest, he instantly recognized the suspect as the man he knew as "Jason," who had been renting the ministry's property.</p><p>Sipe went to the property and smelled the odor of marijuana coming from a shed. He called 911 and responding deputies saw marijuana plants.</p><p>They called the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team, whose agents obtained search warrants.</p><p>Sure enough, inside a shed investigators found 85 mature marijuana plants. Inside the living room and a bedroom they found 140 more marijuana plants.</p><p>The plants ranged in height from 3 inches to 3 feet and weighed a combined 46.5 pounds. Also found in the residence: 2 pounds of packaged marijuana ready for distribution and three handguns, according to official accounts.</p><p>Agents also recovered several fraudulent identifications bearing photographs of "Jason."</p><p>Sipe said the man had been renting the property for about eight to 10 months, officials said.</p><p>The various forms of identification were all in the name of David Guillermo Ramirez, born Aug. 4, 1983. They included a passport, Social Security card, Homeland Security card, Georgia driver's license and state-issued ID from Georgia.</p><p>Sipe told a Star-Banner reporter Thursday that Price/Jason did not have any involvement with Heart of the Street Ministry, which feeds and clothes homeless people and assists them in getting them back on their feet. He said when he met the man, he told him he was trying to start a strawberry nursery.</p><p>Sipe said the arrangement was for the man to help them fix up the property. He stayed longer than expected, Sipe added.</p><p>Local drug agents plan to travel to Georgia to talk with Price about the marijuana growing operation and the IDs bearing his image.</p><p><i>Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118 or austin.miller@starbanner.com.</i></p>